A Republican-led effort to add gun rights to the Iowa Constitution must start over because the state's top election office did not complete a key step in the yearslong process, a mistake they described as a "bureaucratic oversight."

Republican lawmakers and pro-gun advocates said they were shocked and angry after Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate confirmed that his office failed to publish the required notifications that the Legislature had begun the process of amending the state constitution in Iowa newspapers.

"I accept full responsibility for this oversight and offer my sincerest apology to the legislators and supporters who worked so hard on these bills," Pate said in a statement.

Amendments to the Iowa Constitution must be passed by a majority of both chambers of the Iowa Legislature in separate, two-year General Assembly calendars. Republicans, who control both chambers, had been on track to place the measure before voters in 2020. Now the proposal will be delayed by at least two years, and may be derailed altogether if Democrats retake a chamber in the next election.

"We’ve been putting pieces in place, working extremely hard to secure pro-Second Amendment majorities in both chambers. And to hold that is not an easy thing to do," said Kurt Liske, president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, which lobbied for the amendment.

"If there was going to be a setback, I did not in a million years foresee it coming in this manner," Liske said.

The proposed gun rights amendment language reads: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny."

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds described the situation as "really unfortunate."

“We’ll do what we need to do to make it right,” she said. “They’re still working through what that looks like.”

Sen. Brad Zaun, an Urbandale Republican who helped advance the resolution last year said he’s “disappointed” and “somewhat angry” because of the work that’s been put into the effort. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he plans to reintroduce the measure this session. Zaun said there’s some chatter among his colleagues about changing the publication process.

“I’m not interested in doing that,” he said. “I think that we have to do with what’s been set in front of us as far as the process.”

An assortment of handguns on display at The Pawn Shop on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, in Des Moines. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

Rep. Matt Windschitl, a Missouri Valley Republican who led efforts last year to pass the amendment, called it "a monumental setback."

“But we do not stop," he said. "We continue to move forward on what we know is right, and what Iowans deserve.”

Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, said he felt confident that lawmakers will keep going on the issue.

"The belief in Iowans’ right to bear arms is so embedded in the Republican Party, that we will do whatever we have to do to make sure that that constitutional amendment comes before the people," he said. "Setbacks are always frustrating."

Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, worked with a coalition of organizations last year to oppose the constitutional amendment. Ryan believes the proposed language is too broad and will make it difficult for lawmakers to pass gun control.

"We know that they will bring this back up and they’ll restart the whole process, but we’re excited to educate legislators and the public on how egregious this amendment is," she said.

Liske sent an email to Iowa Firearms Coalition members Sunday night informing them of "unexpected and bad news to report."

His message read in part: "Because of this failure, last year's vote and all of our work leading up to it appear to have been undone."

Liske said any options to avoid a delay in passing the amendment appear limited.

This isn't the first time such an error has delayed a constitutional amendment.

Before he was governor, former Secretary of State Chet Culver failed to publish notice in 2004 of a proposed amendment removing the words "idiot" and "insane" from the state constitution when referencing mentally incompetent people who are barred from voting. The measure was supposed to appear on the ballot in 2006 but was not voted upon until 2008.

Correction: Rep. Matt Windschitl's family once owned a gun store but no longer does. This edition has been corrected to reflect the change.

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